Engine starter



Dec. 30, 1952 L. A. MORRISON ENGINE STARTER Filed June 15, 1950 m VENTOPLESLIE A. MORRISON BY ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 30, 1952 ENGINE STARTERLeslie Aubrey Morrison, Pampa, Tex., assignor to Morrison StarterCompany, Pampa, Tex., a corporation of Texas Application June 15, 1950,Serial No. 168,245

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to an engine starter and, more particularly, to astarter which includes a pneumatic motor adapted to operate on low gaspressures and which starter is particularly adapted for use with gasengines and gasoline engines.

It has been proposed heretofore to employ starters which includepneumatic motors but require high gas pressures for starting gas enginesand the like. Such starters have not proved to be practical because ofthe high gas pressures required and the fact that such high gaspressures are not readily available particularly in oil fields and thelike. Also, the starters heretofore proposed employ gears, usuallycomplicated ge'ar trains. The type of starter most commonly employedprior to my invention has involved a pneumatic motor connected by a geartrain to a ring gear attached to the flywheel of the engine. All of suchengine starters are complicated in construction and expensive. Ingeneral, they will not withstand the loads involved and the gears tendto break, particularly when the engine backfires. In the starters mostcommonly employed. the pneumatic motor is closely associated with thegear train, and gas from the motor tends to escape into the gear trainresulting in frequent explosions, due to the sparks generated by thegear train, damaging the starter and the engine and constituting a verydecided hazard to the operator.

It is an object of my invention to provide a simple and inexpensiveengine starter which does not have the objectionable features of thestarters of the prior art. Another object is to provide a starter whichis particularly adapted for use with gas engines and gasoline enginesand especially for oilfield pumping engines. A further object is toprovide an engine starter which includes a pneumatic motor and which isadapted to operate on low gas pressures that are readily availableparticularly in oil fields. A particular object is to provide an enginestarter which does not employ gears, which is more dependable inoperation, which will better withstand the loads involved withoutbreaking of the parts particularly when engine backfires, and which isless hazardous to use. A still further object is to provide an enginestarter which can be repaired more easily and economically. Stillanother object is to advance the art. Other objects will appearhereinafter.

The above and other objects may be accomplished in accord with myinvention wherein I provide an engine starter which comprises apneumatic motor which is adapted to operate on agas pressure of fromabout 12 to about 35 pounds per square inch, a driving pulley on theshaft of the motor, a driven pulley spaced from the driving pulley andhaving a diameter about 3 to about 20 times the diameter of the drivingpulley, a belt operatively connecting the pulleys-a longitudinallymovable elongated starter shaft extending through the center of thedriven pulley and secured to such pulley for rotation therewith,bearings for the starter shaft spaced from the ends of the starter shaftand slidably supporting the starter shaft, a crank nut engaging memberon one end of the starter shaft adapted to releasably engage a crank nuton the end of an engine shaft, and a spring associated with the startershaft normally forcing the starter shaft to a retracted position withthe crank nut engaging member disengaged from the crank nut.

In order to start an engine with my starter, the engine and starter arepositioned so that the starter shaft is in alignment with the engineshaft and the crank nut engaging member on the end of the starter shaftis near the crank nut on the end of the engine crank shaft. The startershaft is pushed manually so that it slides longitudinally in itsbearings until the crank nut engaging mem-' ber engages the crank nut.The pneumatic motor is then operated and, through the pulleys and Ibelt, turn the starter shaft to start the engine.

When the engine starts firing and is running, the crank nut engagingmember automatically disengages from the crank nut and the starter shaftis automatically returned to its normal retracted inoperative positionwith the crank nut engaging member out of contact with the crank nut. Myinvention and its mode of operation will be more readily understood fromthe following more detailed description taken with the accompanyingdrawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments of my invention, inwhich:

Figure l is a perspective View of the engine starter, shown in positionfor operating an engine, and

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view, taken through thecenter of the driven pulley, illustrating one type of structurepermitting longitudinal motion of the starter shaft.

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional. view,

taken through the center of the driven pulley,

illustrating another type of structure permitting longitudinal motion ofthe starter shaft.

In the drawings, the numeral Ill designates the front end of an engineto be started provided with a crankshaft i2 and a crank nut it ofconventional construction. As shown, the engine ismounted on a skid It,which is in the form of an I-beam, in a manner common with oil pumpingengines. However, it will be understood that my starter may be employedwith any type of gas engine or gasoline engine, either stationary ormobile, and it is not necessary that the engine be mounted on a skid.

The starter of my invention, as shown, is mounted on a bracket i8secured to the skid [6 through key slots 29 and nuts and bolts, asshown. It will be apparent that the type of bracket may be widely variedand that it need not be fastened to a skid but may be fastened to anyother desirable support or to the front end of the engine, as desired. Apneumatic motor 22 is mounted on the bracket 13 and is connected with asource of gaseous fluid under pressure through a throttling valve 2d andpipe 26 in the conventional manner. The pneumatic motor 22 is designedand adapted to operate under gas pressures of from about 12 to about 35pounds per square inch. The gaseous fluid may be natural gas, air orsteam. When the starter is to be employed where natural gas is readilyavailable, as

in oil fields, the gaseous fluid will usually be natural gas which iscommonly under a pressure in the desired range.

A driving pulley 28 is secured to the shaft of the pneumatic motor 22and is operatively connected with a driven pulley 3G by means of a belt3-2. The driving pulley 28 may be from about 1 to about inches indiameter, but, usually, will have a diameter of from about 2 to about 3inches. The driven pulley so may have a diameter offrom about 3 to about30 inches, usually, will have a diameter of from about 18 to about 20'inches. The relative diameters of the pulleys will be dependent upon thesize and type of the engine to be started and hence upon the load. to beimposed upon the starter in starting the engine; The driven pulleyshould have a diameter of from about 3 to about 20 times the diameter ofthe driving pulley and, usually, from about 6 to about 10 times. Thepulleys may be plain and the belt 32 may be flat. However, I generallyprefer that the pulleys be sheaves and the belt a V-bclt, as shown inthe drawings.

The driven pulley 3d is provided with a hub 34. An elongated startershaft 36 extends through the hub 34 and is secured to the pulley to sothat it rotates with the pulley. As shown in Figure 2, the hub 34 isprovided with a key 33. The shaft 36 is provided with an elongatedkeyway ii), extending longitudinally of the shaft, and which is slightlywider than the key 38 so as to permit the. shaft 36 to be movedlongitudinally relative to the pulley 39, the key 38 riding in thekeyway 40. The shaft 36 is supported in bearings 42 in the upper end ofthe bracket it. Such bearings are adjacentv opposite sides of the pulley3i! and have their inner faces loosely engaging the end faces of the hubSid to prevent lateral movement of the pulley while permitting rotationof the pulley relative thereto. The bearings 42 are slightly larger thanthe shaft 36 so as to permit longitudinal movement of the shaft relativeto the bearings but preventing movement of the shaft in a directionperpendicular to its axis.

The shait is provided at one end with a crank nut member 5-5 ofconventional construction. As' shown, the crank nut enga ing, member,consists of two diametrically extending lugs whic are adapted to engagein cooperating slots in the crank nut E i. It will be understood thatthe crank nut engaging means may be Widely varied as is common in theart and particularly in accord with the design of the particular cranknut on the engine crankshaft.

A spring retaining member 46 is secured to the other end of the shaft 36and a spring 48 is positioned between the spring retaining member 46 andthe bearing 42 nearest to the spring retaining member. Such, springretaining member may be a simple nut for engaging the end of the springand maintaining it under the desired compression. However, as shown inthe drawings, the spring retaining member 46 is in the form of a knobrotatably mounted on the end of the shaft 35 so that the operator maypush on such knob to move the shaft 36 longitudinally and engage thecrank engaging member with a crank nut, without having his hand comeinto contact with the rotating shaft. Such member 46 may be of any otherdesign desired, such as a wheel or the like. Also, a spring retainingnut may be employed and a knob or other manually operable member may berotatably mounted on the nut or on the end of the shaft beyond the endof the spring retaining nut.

The structure shown in Figure 2 may be further modified in the mannershown in Figure 3. In this modification, the pulley 3i]- and shaft 36are immovably secured together by a key 38, but the bearings 42 arespaced apart by a distance equal to the desired longitudinal movement ofthe shaft 35. The pulley 30 moves laterally with the shaft when theshaft is moved longitudinally to engage the crank nut and to return toits normal position. In this modification, it is particu larly desirablethat the pulleys be in the form of sheaves connected by a V-belt.

In operation, the engine and the starter are positioned relative to eachother so that the starter shaft 36 is in alignment with the engine crankshaft !2, and the crank nut engaging meinber 54 is opposite the cranknut H, but normally spaced therefrom. The operator manually pushes theshaft 36 longitudinally against the tension of the spring 48 until thecrank nut engaging member 44 operatively engages the crank nut M. Thethrottle valve 24 is then turned to operate the pneumatic motor 22 atthe desired speed. and, through the pulleys 23 and 30, belt 32 and shaft36, to turn the engine at the desired speed to start it. When the enginestarts and is running, the spring 48 will automatically retract theshaft 35 so that the crank nut engaging member 44.

is automatically disengaged, from the crank nut id and returnedto itsnormal position out of contact with the crank nut.

It will be understood that the structures. specifically shown in thedrawings and described in detail herein, constitute illustrativepreferred embodiments of my invention and that my invention isnot-limited thereto. It will be readily apparent to those skilled in theart that many variations and modifications can be made in the details ofconstruction without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention.and I intend to claim my invention broadly as in the appended claim.

It will be apparent that the starter of my invention is simple andeconomical in construction. It is readily adaptable for starting enginesof any desired type or size. It is dependable in operation and iscomposed of few and simple parts which may be readily and economicallyrepaired or replaced. It withstands the;

loads required, including the loads. and shocks involved when the enginebackfires. and does not contain gears, ratchets, diaphragms or likestructures which tend to break or rapidly deteriorate. The pneumaticmotor is not connected with the engine but is spaced therefrom so thatthere is no danger or explosions by gas leaking from the pneumatic motorinto gear trains and the like. Therefore, it will be apparent that myinvention constitutes a valuable advance in and contribution to the art.

The invention claimed is:

In an engine starter, a pneumatic motor designed and adapted to operateon a gas pressure of from about 12 to about 35 pounds per square inch.9. driving sheave on the shaft of the motor having a diameter of fromabout 2 to about 3 inches, a driven pulley spaced from the drivingsheave and having a diameter of from about 18 to about 20 inches. a beltoperatively connecting the sheaves, an longated starter shaft extendingthrough the center of the driven sheave and immovably secured thereto,bearings slidably supporting the starter shaft opposite each side of thedriven sheave, said bearings being spaced apart by a distance equal tothe thickness of the sheave plus the distance between the crank LESLIEAUBREY MORRISON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,360,306 Madden et al Nov. 30,1920 1,434,309 Nelson Oct. 31, 1922 2,358,445 Cone Sept. 19, 19442,404,419 Weatherly July 23, 1946 2,463,178 Hoover Mar. 1, 19492,506,663 De Guerin May 9, 1950

